The Humane Society of the United States strongly opposes keeping wild animals as pets. This principle applies to both native and nonnative species, whether caught in the wild or bred in captivity. The overwhelming majority of people who obtain these animals are unable to provide the care they require.

Despite what animal sellers may say, appropriate care for wild animals requires considerable expertise, specialized facilities, and lifelong dedication to the animals. Their nutritional and social needs are demanding to meet and, in many cases, are unknown. They often grow to be larger, stronger, and more dangerous than owners expect or can manage. Even small monkeys and small cats such as ocelots can inflict serious injuries, especially on children. Wild animals also pose a danger to human health and safety through disease and parasites. From http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/should_wild_animals_be_kept_as_pets.html

As a principle, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) strongly opposes the keeping of exotic and nondomestic animals (wild animals) as pets. This includes the many parrots and other exotic birds, ferrets, reptiles, rabbits, mice, rats, squirrels, raccoons, and wildcats.

When wild animals are kept as pets, their lives are likely to be filled with misery. Often they languish in a cramped backyard cage or circle endlessly in a cat carrier or aquarium. Their suffering may begin with capture – every year millions of birds and reptiles suffer and die on the journey from their habitat to the pet store. The wild-pet trade threatens the very existence of some species. From http://list.afriherp.org/pipermail/pbiocoll/2003-July/000047.html

Travis, a 200-pound chimpanzee, savagely attacked Charla Nash in Connecticut on February 16, resulting in the chimp’s death. Sandra Herold, Travis’s owner, repeatedly stabbed Travis with a butcher knife and hit him with a shovel in an attempt to thwart the attack on her friend. Travis critically wounded Nash, seriously injuring her face, biting off her hands and causing massive blood loss. Travis was later fatally shot by police.

Travis was a 15-year-old chimp who once starred in commercials for Coca-Cola and Old Navy and had been raised as a human since he was three days old. Sandra Herold treated Travis as a family member. He was toilet trained, bathed himself, drank wine from stemmed glasses, went for rides around town, and could even log onto the Internet to look at pictures on her computer. From http://www.independent.com/news/2009/feb/27/home-range/

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